Departments and Research Centers

Education Policy Initiative

The Education Policy Initiative (EPI) is a program within the Ford School that brings together nationally-recognized education policy scholars focused on the generation and dissemination of policy-relevant education research.

Showing 211 - 240 of 657 results

Dynarski’s research on income-contingent loans cited in Times Higher Education

Mar 16, 2017

A team of four researchers, including Susan Dynarski, published a working paper on income-contingent loan (ICL) systems this month for the Centre for Global Higher Education: “Getting student financing right in the US: Lessons from Australia and...

Susan Dynarski in New York Times on the recent FAFSA fumble

Mar 13, 2017

Susan Dynarski’s recent article, "A fumble on a key FAFSA tool, and a failure to communicate," was published by The New York Times earlier today. The piece takes a critical look at the IRS shutdown of the FAFSA's data retrieval tool earlier this...

Jacob in Bridge Magazine: If nothing is done, Michigan public education will continue decline

Mar 9, 2017

In "State Commission: Consider abolishing Board of Education," Ted Roefels of Bridge Magazine quotes Brian Jacob, whose research focuses on improving educational achievement and outcomes.The article, published on March 9, covers a forthcoming report...

Jacob speaks with Michigan Radio, poor marks for Michigan’s reading, math proficiency

Feb 22, 2017

“Are Michigan’s schools improving? According to a new analysis of national testing data, the answer is a clear 'no,'" says Michigan Radio’s “Stateside” in today’s segment, “On national reading and math test, Michigan only state where students have...

News

Jacob on how the U.S. Department of Education can foster reform in the Trump era

Feb 3, 2017

In "How the U.S. Department of Education can foster education reform in the era of Trump and ESSA," Brian Jacob describes Michigan's disappointing performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. According to Jacob's analysis,...

Faculty publication on Michigan merit curriculum now in educational policy journal

Jan 27, 2017

A paper by Brian Jacob, Susan Dynarski, Kenneth Frank, and Barbara Schneider titled, “Are Expectations Alone Enough? Estimating the Effect of a Mandatory College-Prep Curriculum in Michigan” was published in Educational Evaluation and Policy...

Brian Jacob, Sue Dynarski, and members of the Education Policy Initiative stand along the winding main staircase of the Ford School's home, Weill Hall

Jacob publication: "The measurement of student ability in modern assessment systems"

Jan 27, 2017

A paper by Brian Jacob and Jesse Rothstein (U-C Berkeley), "The Measurement of Student Ability in Modern Assessment Systems," was published in the Summer 2016 edition of the American Economic Association's Journal of Economic Perspectives. The piece...

Jacob examines effects of Evidence Based Literacy Instruction on student reading

Jan 25, 2017

An NBER working paper by Brian Jacob, "When Evidence is Not Enough: Findings from a Randomized Evaluation of Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction," is forthcoming in Labour Economics. Abstract This paper reports the results of an experimental...

Brian Jacob debates the effects of NCLB school accountability policies in JPAM articles

Jan 1, 2017

In "The changing federal role in school accountability" and "The potential and limits of federal policy: A response to Ladd," two January articles in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Brian Jacob engages with Helen Ladd of Duke...

Dynarski on "Fulfilling the promise of community college: The ASAP demonstrations"

Dec 7, 2016

Community colleges throughout the United States have low graduation rates, yet preliminary evidence from a new randomized trial suggests an effective policy prescription, write Susan Dynarski and Meghan Oster. Their article, “Fulfilling the promise...

Michigan charter school practices rarely differ from those offered in traditional public schools

Dec 1, 2016

A new study by the University of Michigan’s Education Policy Initiative (EPI) shows Michigan’s charter schools follow similar practices as the traditional public schools that their students would otherwise attend. At a time when one of the major...

Why investors are suddenly bullish on for-profit colleges, Dynarski in NYT Upshot

Nov 21, 2016

Susan Dynarski, writing for the Upshot, explains why investors are suddenly bullish on for-profit colleges in “With Trump, investors see profits again in for-profit colleges.”Under the Obama administration, for-profit colleges faced mounting...

"To me, it is immoral to deny children a better education" - Dynarski featured in NYT

Nov 4, 2016

David Leonhardt’s November 4 New York Times op-ed, “Schools that work,” features charter school research and commentary by Susan Dynarski, co-director of the Ford School’s Education Policy Initiative. The op-ed concerns a controversial ballot...

Susan Dynarski in NYT, “A conveyor belt of dropouts and debt at for-profit colleges”

Oct 31, 2016

Susan Dynarski, in Sunday’s New York Times, describes for-profit colleges as having “a conveyor belt of dropouts and debt.”Dynarski points out that enrollment at for-profit colleges has jumped, especially since the Great Recession, when increased...

Stange on a new measure of college quality, effects of sector and peers on degree attainment

Oct 19, 2016

“A New Measure of College Quality to Study the Effects of College Sector and Peers on Degree Attainment,” a journal article by Jonathan Smith and Kevin Stange, has been published in the fall 2016 edition of Education Finance and...

U-M attracts 262 HAIL Scholarship recipients from 52 Michigan counties in first year

Oct 17, 2016

Enrolling at the University of Michigan seemed like a far-fetched dream for Devin Raymond.Despite his 3.9 high school GPA, being the president of student council, and his involvement in choir, band, musical theater and other extracurricular...

Jacob on Educational Test Score Manipulation in NBER Working Paper

Oct 12, 2016

“The Causes and Consequences of Test Score Manipulation: Evidence from the New York Regents Examinations” a journal article by Thomas S. Dee, Will Dobbie, Brian A. Jacob, and Jonah Rockoff, has been released as an NBER working paper.AbstractIn this...

Jacob on technology and educational equality in Journal of the Social Sciences

Oct 6, 2016

"Can technology help promote equality of educational opportunities?" a journal article by Brian Jacob, Dan Berger, Cassandra Hart, and Susanna Loeb (MPP '94), has been published in the September 2016 edition of the Russell Sage Foundation's Journal...

Brian Jacob in Brookings: "The wisdom of mandatory grade retention" in Michigan

Sep 30, 2016

Brian Jacob's latest contribution to Brookings' Evidence Speaks focuses on “The wisdom of mandatory grade retention.”In the article, Jacob investigates whether it is sound public policy to require third graders who fall behind in grade-level reading...

"Class sizes in Michigan, the quiet crisis," new research by Education Policy Initiative

Sep 21, 2016

New research from the Education Policy Initiative at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy found that many Michigan K-12 students experience very large core classes—with 40 or more students—but that some students are at greater...

In New York Times, Susan Dynarski welcomes FAFSA changes, urges more reforms

Sep 16, 2016

Susan Dynarski, a longtime advocate for simplifying the FAFSA (the financial aid application students and their families must submit for college), welcomes new changes and suggests future reforms in this Sunday's New York Times “Economic...

In Brookings, Dynarski advocates for expansion of charter school quota in Massachusetts

Sep 15, 2016

In some urban areas of Massachusetts, a statewide cap on charter schools restricts any additional charter seats. Susan Dynarski and Sarah Cohodes tackle this issue in “Massachusetts charter cap holds back disadvantaged students,” the latest Evidence...

Don’t miss Dynarski’s “74” interview on data-driven education policies and practices

Sep 2, 2016

Susan Dynarski was interviewed by The 74, a non-profit news site (named after the 74 million American children under the age of 18) that covers pressing topics in domestic education.The interview, conducted by senior staff writer Matt Barnum, covers...

Brian Jacob on student test scores—how they’re assembled and why that matters

Aug 16, 2016

In “Student test scores: How the sausage is made and why you should care,” Brian Jacob describes how student ability is measured; how various test makers analyze and report student performance; and why this matters for policymakers and practitioners...

Susan Dynarski in NYT, “Why American schools are even more unequal than we thought”

Aug 16, 2016

Susan Dynarski, writing for The New York Times, explains “Why American schools are even more unequal than we thought.” In the piece, Dynarski describes a new measure of economic hardship—one that reveals an even more troubling picture of the...

Stange on investing in schools: Capital spending, facility conditions, and student achievement

Aug 1, 2016

“Investing in Schools: Capital Spending, Facility Conditions, and Student Achievement” a journal article by Paco Martorell, Kevin Stange, and Isaac McFarlin, has been published in the August 2016 edition of the Journal of Public...

RNC’s new call for a return to a “competitive” student loan market won’t work, says Dynarski

Jul 21, 2016

In “The RNC wants to make student loans competitive again. They never were,” Susan Dynarski provides detailed context on one plank of the newly released Republican platform, which pushes to get the federal government out of the student loan...

EPI’s DC conference, “Restructuring student loans: Lessons from abroad"

Jun 14, 2016

Roughly 100 guests—including policymakers, practitioners, and members of the press—attended “Restructuring student loans: Lessons from abroad,” a conference organized by Susan Dynarski, co-founder and co-director of the Ford School’s Education...

For Brookings, Brian Jacob describes "the opportunities and challenges of digital learning"

May 6, 2016

On the 20th anniversary of the publication of his first op-ed on the use of classroom computers, Brian Jacob, who is engaged in several digital learning research initiatives, explores “The opportunities and challenges of digital learning.” Jacob’s...

“Is student debt hampering the housing recovery?” No, says Dynarski in Brookings

May 4, 2016

“The striking gap in homeownership is not between college-educated people who did and did not borrow, but between those with and without a college education,” writes Susan Dynarski in “The dividing line between haves and have-nots in homeownership:...